Passing On
by Sgamer82
Summary: What Shiho Miyano learned in the past, Ai Haibara can pass on in the present. Written for Poirot Cafe's Super Short Contest #14: Lipstick. (ONE-SHOT)


****_Detective Conan  
_**** _Passing On  
_ By  
sgamer82

 _She's just a little kid,_ Akemi told herself. _She doesn't know better._

A few more repetitions of this left Akemi calm enough to look again at the carnage before her. Her make-up kit open, its contents scattered all across the table and floor. In front of the vanity, looking up at Akemi and grinning with what seemed like all of Akemi's make-up plastered over her face was Akemi Miyano's six year-old baby sister.

"Shiho..."

Shiho spoke up before Akemi could get further.

"Did I do it right, Onee-chan?" she asked eagerly.

 _Only if you wanted to be a clown,_ Akemi did _not_ say out loud. _The adults can say whatever they want about "genius level intellect"..._

Akemi pushed that thought away. Between attending middle school and Shiho's programs they hardly saw each other anymore. The last thing she wanted was to upset Shiho because her frustration got the better of her.

"It... um... you made a couple of mistakes, actually," Akemi replied.

Shiho's face fell, the expression exaggerated by the lipstick covering most of her lower face. Akemi's annoyance died as she now struggled not to laugh.

"They're just rookie mistakes," Akemi told Shiho, waving her hand dismissively. "The kinds of things nobody expects a first timer to be aware of. Fortunately for you, I'm here to teach you everything I know."

 _Which isn't much,_ Akemi admitted to herself. _I've only just been permitted to start wearing make-up myself, after all. But Shiho doesn't need to know that._

The lipstick frown turned upside down the instant Akemi had finished speaking.

"Really?" Shiho jumped up and down in her seat, kicking her legs in excitement.

"Really," Akemi replied. "But we'll need to start fresh, so before we begin let's go to the bathroom and wash your face clean."

Shiho hopped off the chair she had been sitting on and ran to the washroom of the apartment. Before joining her, Akemi surveyed the damage. She sighed. Shiho had gotten into everything. She must have really liked the lipstick. It was down to a mere nub of its former self. Fortunately, there was just enough to work with to do herself up today and still satisfy Shiho.

* * *

"Ai-chan, I don't think I did this right..."

Haibara turned to look and immediately recoiled. Ayumi had definitely overdone her make-up as only young children could.

"Does it look good?"

"If you want to be a clown, maybe," Haibara responded before she could stop herself.

Haibara regretted the remark immediately. Ayumi's overly shadowed eyes went wide. Then tears started forming at their edges.

"That was out of line," Haibara said, trying to prevent actual crying. "I spoke without thinking and I apologize."

From the reflection in the vanity Haibara saw Ayumi's mother, supervising while her daughter and her daughter's friend used her old make-up, change her expression from glaring to satisfied. Haibara was grateful she didn't speak up. The only thing more irritating than an adult trying to correct her behavior was having behavior that needed correcting.

Ayumi was less easily mollified. She turned away from Haibara and very dramatically huffed.

"You know," Ayumi told her, "If you say something without thinking it's the same saying how you really feel."

The reflection of Ayumi's mother nodded again.

"I'm sorry," Haibara apologized again. "If it's any consolation, I... I did the same thing when I was six."

"Really?" Ayumi asked. She quirked an eyebrow at Haibara.

"Yes," Haibara said, blushing at the memory.

While Ayumi assumed her fellow seven year-old was referring something more recent, Haibara could only vaguely recall that long ago day. She remembered being so proud of herself. She also remembered being completely oblivious to her sister trying to hold her temper. It had been a far cry from Ayumi's present day perception.

"My older sister called it a 'rookie mistake'," Haibara said. "Now that I think about it, she taught me a few things that day."

"She did?" Ayumi asked. Haibara nodded.

"Wash off your face and we'll start over. I'll show you what I know; even if it won't be much."

"All right!" Ayumi said excitedly. "I'll be right back."

A few minutes later, Ayumi sat in front of Haibara ready to go. Haibara, who had reorganized the make-up around Ayumi's mother's vanity white she waited, picked up the lipstick and began instructing her friend.


End file.
